Neruda
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Well, I figured I might as well do an amp-less review now, and then write a second one explaining the changes in sound with an amp (or just add it to this review). So here we go, a review of the AKG K401, after about two months of use.
time to get a cup of coffee!
As many of you know, I had been using a pair of beaten up Grado SR80's as my main headphones for about nine months before I got my AKG's. They were terrific headphones and still are, but I had a lot of problems with them. The first, and this is a very widespread complaint, is one of comfort. The bowl pads are terribly uncomfortable pads, especially over a long period. When I first got my Grados they had comfy pads, but after buying a pair of bowls and hearing the dramatic improvement in sound, I quit using them. The comfy pads are incredibly comfortable (as their name implies), and so before the bowls I thought that Grados were the most comfortable things in the world. But a bowled Grado is hell on just about anyone's ears; it certainly was on mine. The second complaint I had was the cord. Every Grado (save for the SR40) has a cord that's half a centimeter thick, which means it's heavy and cumbersome. I also prefer single entry cords over Y-cords. Not only that, but due to the Grado size adjustment system (which consists of a rather loosely fitting and constantly rotating metal pole on either earcup) the cord would always be twisted up. It was almost impossible to keep it from getting twisted, no matter how careful I was. And untwisting it was a constant annoyance, not to mention rather pointless. Up to this point however, I had no problems with their sound. My Grados were constant companions to school, on trips, and to just about everywhere else. I loved those little phones.
Enter Tyll Hertsens and the traveling headroom freak show. I came, I listened, I left with a pair of AKG K401's in the passenger seat next to me.
I'll start with their construction. Everything seems very well built; nothing is loose, nothing rattles, nothing on the plastic gives me the impression that they were molded (they were, of course; but everything is nice and smooth). The K401 is an open headphone, very open! The headband is made up of two plastic bands with a smooth, self-adjusting plastic strap. The earcups can move up and down, but not side to side. The earpads are foam covered with cloth. They attach to the headphones in a rather unique fashion; to take them off you have to untwist them! You don't unscrew them; it's just a little movement that frees up the earpad from four small clasp-like mechanisms attached to the earcup. The earpads are very stiff; they’re not soft at all. Vertigo had warned me of this, and I was expecting them to be uncomfortable. However, I found that this was not the case. To me, the K401 feels incredibly comfortable and light. They don't squeeze your head like the Sennheiser HD600, instead they rest gently around your ears. To get them this comfortable I did bend the headband a tiny bit, but it made a big difference.
These headphones are very big. They're a little bit smaller than the CD3000/CD1700, but larger than the Beyer DT770/DT931. It's odd, but the earpads aren't thicker in the area below your ear like most large earpads are. Even so, they seem to shape to my head just fine. They are so comfortable compared to my Grados! It's amazing! After using the K401's for a while I put on my Grados and was simply shocked. At one time I thought the Grados were big and well made; nowadays they seem flimsy, cheap and small. I can't even use them any more. The earpads feel like little "balls" resting on my ears or something. They are certainly lighter than the K401, but that just makes them feel cheaper. The weight of the K401 (which isn't much, really) makes them feel a lot sturdier. They will heat up after a bit, but not as fast as my SR80’s do.
After removing the earpad, I got a look at the transducer itself, along with the inside of the headphone. Unlike some headphones there isn’t much between the pad and the transducer itself, save for a little plastic frame to keep it from getting crushed. The diaphragm is a half-transparent plastic or Mylar and, for some reason, looks more complex than other transducers I've seen. Must be that varimotion technology!
The only real problem I have with their build is the cord. Compared to that thick, cumbersome Grado cord the K401’s cord seems cheap. I’m also incredibly worried about damaging it. I had one very close call recently (described here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...&threadid=1574 ), but I suppose that if it survived that sort of trauma then it can survive just about anything. I would have preferred a removable cord though, like on the Sennheiser HD590. Maybe someday I’ll modify them, but I think that when that day comes pigs will not only be flying but performing complex aerial acrobatics. The plug is gold plated and comes with a screw-on ¼” adapter.
Well, I suppose that we have nowhere else to go but sound quality!
The first thing you’ll notice when you put these headphones on is the soundstage. It’s incredibly wide and airy, much more so than many headphones I’ve tried. In fact, a lot of headphones (including the Sennheiser HD600) sound closed in compared to the K401. Is this soundstage accurate, or false? Team Sennheiser is going to claim the latter. I might not be qualified to comment on this, I can only tell you what I think: the soundstage can be either depending on the music. A lot of CD’s sound absolutely unbelievable through these headphones, and I think it’s because of its soundstage. Such CD’s are “Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms,” “Donald Fagen – The Night fly,” “Art Garfunkel – Breakaway,” and “A Decade of Steely Dan” (Babylon Sisters sounds incredible). It’s perhaps most noticeable when listening to the Donald Fagen CD. The first week I had these phones, that album made up at least 50% of what I listened to (and that’s pretty incredible for any one album). I don’t entirely know why these phones have such chemistry with that type of music, but I think it might have something to do with synthesizers. They also like bass and a solo guitar, which is very common in Steely Dan. One last thing that I noticed is that in all those CD’s, there is never (or hardly ever) someone strumming a guitar. Maybe that has something to do with it…
They don’t do as well with rock. They can rock if they have to, but the soundstage can definitely sound false with a lot of harder stuff. But keep this in mind: since I got the 401’s, I’ve never gone back to using the SR80’s because I felt they could do something better than the 401’s. The Grados are definitely rock headphones, but their sound can’t compare to what this AKG is capable of, no matter what music you’re listening to. It’s the treble, I think; the treble on the SR80’s sounds raspy and harsh compared to the smoother treble of the K401.
To test their impact capabilities (keep in mind I’m still not giving them enough power), I used “The Crystal Method – Vegas” and “Rage against the Machine.” Now I got to see how they compared to Grados in terms of liveliness. The results surprised me. After switching back and forth between the SR80’s and the K401’s countless times, I decided that the AKG’s provide just as much impact! The only reason they might not sound like you’re in the front row is because of the difference in soundstage.
Speaking of which, I’ve just switched to my SR80’s for a bit to compare again. Now I hear the muddiness Headroom was talking about! It’s amazing. I can’t believe I never heard it before. Compared to the K401, the SR80 has way too much midbass (probably that hump at 100Hz). However, through my portable CD player the K401 is also a bit bassy. The bass isn’t quite as tight as I would like it; this might be a side effect of listening through my computer though. For whatever reason, the jack on my SoundBlaster live is bass-shy with headphones. After a while I’ve gotten used to this, and sometimes I actually enjoy the reduction in bass. The one good thing is that there don’t seem to be any humps in the bass with the 401’s (unlike the bass hump on the SR80’s); it’s just that the bass is a little loose across the spectrum. I wonder if this could be fixed with a headphone jack optimized for 120 ohms, or a bass-shy opamp (if it exists; probably does). Sometimes though, I prefer the warmer sound. It can be very musical, perhaps a bit like a tube amp’s warmth. I usually prefer that sound with laid-back music late at night. It’s the sort of sound you can really get pulled into.
Like I’ve mentioned once or twice already, the K401’s treble is smooth, yet detailed. These headphones aren’t going to cut to the wick of a recording, but neither are they going to let a bad recording go unnoticed. They’re not “super-detailed” Like the SR80’s are. They’ll never become fatiguing. I find this to be a good thing. I can leave these headphones on for hours without needing to take them off. They're very transparent compared to my SR80's. You have a much better idea of what's going on than with many other headphones. And there is much better placement. Listening to Pink Floy'd "Run like Hell," it's almost disturbing listening to Roger Waters' voice go from side to side. He's not in either eardrum with the K401's, instead he's either to the left or to the right. the sound isn't entirely outside of your head, but it's closer to the real thing than many other headphones.
Well, that should give you an idea of what their sound is like.
Now that you’re done reading my review, I want to make something clear. I’ve done nothing but praise these headphones for the past two months, and this review is no different. When I went to the Headroom meet I learned something very important: there is no Holy Grail of headphones. Just because I like this headphone doesn’t mean that anyone else will like this headphone. So if you go and buy one and hate it, don’t blame me! But if this review does make you want a pair, I sure hope you try them out and enjoy them as much as I do. These headphones have a terrific chemistry with my ears, and I know that I’ll have them for quite a while. This could be a great headphone for someone who can make an amp and wants a pair of headphones that will benefit from its use without spending too much money. I honestly think it’s amazing that these headphones cost as little as they do. Headroom currently has a sale going on where you can get these things for $120, which is as good as you’ll find anywhere (including the super-cheap German sites). For only $25 more than the SR80 (which can be a lot) you get a dramatic improvement in overall sound quality. So, if you think that this headphone might be for you, check it out! I doubt you’ll be disappointed; I just hope that I don’t have anyone expecting way too much.
